October 22, 2016

Yeah, but it is hard to dance to.

October 20 marked the 39th anniversary of the plane crash that killed several members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band and others. I have always liked blues influenced southern rock and by all accounts the band put on a great show. I watched a documentary about LS recently, and their first producer described them as a practiced to perfection talent. They spent ten hours a day practicing when not on tour. Perhaps that explains why their first album is by far their best.

In 1973 and 1974 I was a punk in junior high (middle school for you youngsters). My brother was a freshman in high school. Every morning a group of friends came by to walk to school, a little over a mile away. Yes, we actually were expected to walk. No one saw anything inhuman in that. Anyway, since my brother did not have to leave for some time because we lived a block from the high school, he was still getting ready when we left. Mom and dad were long gone for work. For some reason, right when my friends arrived Otter queued up Free Bird. My friends always laughed that there goes Otter and his "church music".

For those of you who have been on Mars for the past four decades I offer up a live version of the classic tune: